Kelly Asmussen, Ph.D., is a professor of Criminal Justice within the School of Professional Studies. Kelly developed the curriculum for a criminal justice major, in addition to a provisional LADAC license students can attain while attending Peru State to treat alcohol and other drug addictions. Dr. Asmussen worked for 14 years at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in maximum security prior to pursuing the Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Asmussen has developed and supervised six international study tours to Australia, Costa Rica, and England for over 150 students from several Midwest colleges. These tours focus on comparing a country's criminal justice system to the U.S. system while traveling and living in-country for approximately three weeks. Students compare the four main aspects of the system: courts, police, corrections, and the juvenile justice system.

Dr. Asmussen has served as a paid consultant for the National Institute of Justice to evaluate the training academy curriculums for corrections and police in seven states. He has consulted with several school districts in Nebraska regarding school safety issues. He has served as a peer reviewer for over twenty textbook evaluations. Research interests include juvenile delinquency, school violence, domestic violence, correctional programming issues, and the association of at-risk behaviors with educational achievement. Dr. Asmussen has completed previous research studies for the Southeast Nebraska Health Department, helped analyze the Nebraska City Emergency Medical Response team procedures, and People United for Families in Nebraska City. These research efforts have resulted in successful grant applications by these agencies.

Dr. Asmussen is a member of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, American Society of Criminology, Midwest Criminal Justice Association, and

attends/presents at these annual conferences. He has published research articles about high school weapon possession, college student fear, victimization, and reactions to violence, instruction and assessment strategies in criminalistics, as well as a “how to” develop an international study tour. He currently serves as a negotiator for Peru State College faculty in the Nebraska State College System, previously having served as the Vice-President and President for five years.